BOB KEISSER: Mike Gallo gets a dose of reality

Mike Gallo has faced stressful situations many times in his baseball career, but rarely has he faced the side of a mountain.

He was a member of Millikan High's 1995 team that was nationally ranked, pitched for Casey Crook's conference champs at Long Beach City College in 1996, and spent three years at Long Beach State, making two starts in the 1998 College World Series.

He pitched in 160 major-league games over four seasons, allowed just four hits while facing 22 hitters in the postseason with Houston, didn't allow a hit in his career to Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin and avoided allowing a home run to Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa, too.

But nothing prepared the loquacious and always upbeat "Pepe" for being dropped on one of the Southern Alps in New Zealand with just a GPS unit and a jug of water.

"It was like being in the big leagues, physically difficult but even more emotionally taxing," Gallo said enthusiastically. "I loved it!"

Gallo was one of a handful of people selected to appear on the new TNT reality series "72 Hours" that debuted last month, with his episode airing at 10:30 p.m. next Friday.

The show is a compact version of CBS' "Survivor," without the tribal councils. Three teams of three strangers compete in each episode looking to find a briefcase containing $100,000. Each location is uniquely difficult, and the rules are onerous.

They start the race with the clothes on their back, the GPS unit, water and a walkie-talkie to maintain contact with race organizers. There are supply drops along the way, but teams have to carry whatever is given with them on the race. If they require a relief drop, they're given a time penalty.

If two of the teams quit, the surviving trio compete against each other for the cash.

Gallo couldn't comment on what took place on the competition, which was filmed in November, although he did say everyone should be sure to watch what happens when the team meets a rabbit.

"I've traveled a lot but have never been that far away," Gallo said. "It was the end of New Zealand's spring, but there was still snow pack on top of the mountain and there were times when we had to deal with snow and freezing rain before we finally got down to a valley.

"You didn't always know what you were going to get at the supply drops other than something that can help you win. There was a time during the race when I was surviving on trail mix and a piece of a Snickers bar. I told the camera crew that it was easier spending a night in jail."

Gallo was hanging out at the Acapulco Inn on 2nd Street, which is the unofficial headquarters for all ex-Dirtbags, last summer when he met a show runner who was looking for potential contestants with interesting backgrounds.

After several interviews, he was added to the cast pool as an alternate. A few days before filming began in New Zealand, one of the contestants dropped out, Gallo was summoned, and within a few hours he was on a plane to New Zealand.

Anyone who knows Gallo would agree he's a perfect candidate for reality television. He's always upbeat, has a big, energetic persona and loves to talk about the things he love.

In the back story segments of the show, that was often baseball.

"They were definitely interested in having someone with a major-league background," he said. "It was great to talk baseball, but when they asked how much I missed it I admit I got a little emotional. I love the game so much. I feel like I should still be playing."

Gallo was an outfielder and reliever at Millikan and didn't focus on pitching until he was at LBCC. Dirtbag coach Dave Snow didn't know how good Gallo could be but he had more energy than the DWP and was the consummate Dirtbag. As Snow said of Gallo once during the '98 season:

"He's the best dugout dancer in college baseball."

Gallo led Long Beach State to the '98 World Series, throwing a shutout against Fullerton in the Big West tournament, a six-hitter in a 5-1 win over Stanford, eliminating the Cardinal from the regionals on their home field, and made two starts in Omaha, earning a win in his second start despite pitching on three days' rest and with glue covering a blister on the index finger of his pitching hand.

He reached the majors in 2003 but Houston never gave him a chance to start, using him as a LOOGY (left-handed one-out guy).

LOOGY skills didn't come in handy in New Zealand, but there's little doubt he did a little dugout dancing in the Alps.